Washington is “very pleased” with the outcome of the talks with Kiev in Saudi Arabia, Karoline Leavitt has said
US President Donald Trump has put Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in his place and made it clear to him that Washington’s goal is long-term peace between Moscow and Kiev, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
American and Ukrainian delegations held talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, during which Kiev agreed to an “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire” with Russia proposed by Washington and expressed readiness to sign a deal granting the US access to Ukraine’s critical resources “as soon as possible.”
The concessions led to Trump unblocking military aid and intelligence assistance to Kiev. The US president had previously ordered aid to be put on hold after a public clash with Zelensky in the Oval Office over the Ukrainian leader’s unwillingness to look for a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Moscow.
Following the talks on Tuesday, Leavitt told Fox News that the White House was “very, very pleased with the way that the Ukrainians and this deal today turned out.”
“We hope that this will continue in a long and everlasting peace – that is President Trump’s goal, and we hope we can deliver on that goal,” she added.
The spokeswoman referred to Trump as the “negotiator-in-chief,” saying that “he put Zelensky in his place and told him that the Americans are serious about a long-term peace deal.”
Trump did not travel to Saudi Arabia, while Zelensky arrived in Jeddah but did not participate in the negotiations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, represented Washington during the talks, while the Ukrainian delegation was headed by Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak.
Trump “is obviously very engaged and involved. He was briefed throughout the day today on the situation unfolding in Saudi Arabia,” Leavitt said.
When asked about Russia’s reaction to the agreement on a ceasefire proposal reached between Washington and Kiev in Jeddah, the spokeswoman replied: “I have not been updated on the progress. I know that Secretary of State Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz are working very hard on this.”
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Moscow has repeatedly said it will not accept a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine as it would only benefit Kiev and its Western backers. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January that “the goal should not be a short truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament with the aim of subsequently continuing the conflict, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all nations living in this region.”
